Fae and Ravens
by Firegirl210
Summary: A collection of drabbles, one-shots, two-shots, etc. set in the "Maleficent" universe; some funny, some sad, some fluffy, some canon, some not so canon. Most will focus on Maleficent/Diaval. Ratings vary per chapter.
1. The Acquisition of Wings

_**When I watched the movie a second time and re-experienced Maleficent saving Diaval, my heart just broke. Thanks for opening my story, many more drabbles to come! **_

_**Set during the movie, rated K, drama.**_

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**The Acquisition of Wings**

The horrible shrieking travels for miles.

A small black bird, caught in the net of a farmer. An angry dog, hungry for feathers and flesh. A silent watcher.

Death, coming swift, in the form of the blunt handle of a farmer's axe. Blind panic, fear, desperate to escape, to fly, fly, fly, fly-

"Into a man."

Struggling, limbs stretching, squawks fading into coughs and garbled panting. Curious dark eyes that sharpen with intelligence. The farmer flees, screaming of Demons.

The Watcher approaches. She looks at the Bird, and the Bird looks back.

"What have you done to my beautiful self?" he asks suspiciously. The speech feels thick on his human tongue, but smooth compared to the harsh language of the Raven. He has no feathers, no wings, and feels horribly tethered to the ground. The Watcher raises a delicate eyebrow. Her lips are red, her eyes starlight.

"Would you rather I let them beat you to death?"

The bird looks at his awkward, gangly body. No tail, no beak to speak of, strange sight and sounds and smells. Nothing like a Raven.  
"I'm not certain," he retorts, eyes narrowing.

"Stop complaining," chides the Watcher, "I saved your life."

The Raven falls silent. The Watcher speaks truth, and her words fall on his human ears like river water; cool, clear, musical. Cold. He drops his eyes from her elfish face, ashamed.

"Forgive me."

The Watcher observes her creation, seemingly pleased. "What do I call you?"

"Diaval!" It sounds alien in the human tongue, but not unpleasant. He bows his head, hops nervously. "And in return for saving my life, I am your servant."

Ravens are nothing if not creatures of honor, and this Raven is among the most honorable of his breed. He bobs respectfully, and she stares back at him with a strange pain in her eyes, sharp like ice and twice as frigid.

"Wings. I need you to be my wings."

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_**Drop a review, suggestions for more drabbles, or just a hello to let me know I've got some readers! Thanks lovelies.**_


	2. Ever Faithful

_**Shortest drabble to ever exist. Set several months after the movie. Fluff, romance, rated K+.**_

_**Also, none of these beautiful characters are mine. They belong to Disney and all them. We know this.**_

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**Ever Faithful**

"Diaval."

"Yes?"

Maleficent lifted her horned head from where it rested on the Raven-turned-man's chest. She looked up at her dark manservant-turned-lover contemplatively, and he returned her gaze with ebony eyes,

"Something on your mind?"

"It was you, wasn't it?"

His brow furrowed, and he ceased the absent patterns he had been tracing into her alabastor skin. "What?"

"That first night I spent in the ruins. I saw a raven. It was you, wasn't it?"

He pressed his lips into her soft hair, closing his eyes. One pale hand tightened on her shoulder.

"Even as a beast I could feel your pain. The whole of the Moors resounded with it."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Diaval, the truly ever faithful. What would I do without you?"

He smiled, allowing his fingers to stroke the downy feathers at the base of her wings.

"Be almost as lost as I would be without you."

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_**Thanks for reading, more drabbles on the way! If you want to request a drabble, drop me a review! **_


	3. Birds of a Feather

_**Set a few days after Maleficent gets her wings back. Fluff, romance, rated K+. I don't own any of the characters, just the story. Read, review, enjoy!**_

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**Birds of a Feather**

Maleficent took in a deep breath. She stood alone on one of the mighty branches of the tree she called her home, the crisp morning breeze ruffling her newly reclaimed wings. It was the most wonderful feeling she knew, and her chest expanded with power, her wings flexing back over her head.

"They suit you," a voice said gently, and she turned to find that a dark haired man had materialized in the brush behind her. He smiled crookedly, and she brushed her long hair over her shoulder.

"Of course they do. They've been mine all along. We were just apart." She stroked one of the tawny, immense limbs, gazing off into the distance. It had been a long seventeen years without her beautiful wings. Diaval moved closer, letting his dark eyes sweep down the enormous feathered extensions of his Mistress' spirit and body. She noticed his gaze, and cuffed him playfully over the back of the head with one wingtip. He rubbed the offended area, smiling lopsidedly. He always seemed to be unable to perform the very human expression quite correctly.

"They're beautiful," he commented, and she drew them back proudly. He was in earnest, which made her feel strangely uncomfortable with his praise.

"Thank you."

"But there's a bit of matting here," he pointed out, making one of his birdlike hopping motions around her and gesturing to a spot she could hardly see, much less reach. She extended her wings to their full, glorious span, and Diaval moved into their protective shade.

"They haven't exactly been taken care of," she murmured quietly, and he looked at her with an oddly measured expression.

"I'll help you groom them," he offered, and she raised an eyebrow at her manservant of many years. He flushed slightly, and several nervous feathers sprouted along his hands and arms.

"As a bird, I believe I'd be the most qualified," he pointed out, and she settled down crosslegged on the branch, presenting her wings to him to be cleaned. When he didn't move, she glanced over her shoulder, brilliant eyes playful.

"Well? They're not going to groom themselves," she heckled, ruffling her sienna feathers, and Diaval knelt down behind her. He brushed his fingers through the silky feathers, combing out the dust and matted sweat, and coaxing out singed and scorched plumes with deft hands. She sighed softly, letting her eyes fall closed.

"You must be quite a sensation with the female ravens," she teased, and he chuckled.

"Oh no, Mistress, I'm quite the loner."

She glanced at him curiously. "There's no one who's caught your eye?"

He met her gaze for only a moment before looking down. "No, Mistress."

Maleficent shook her feathers out disdainfully. "You needn't call me that any longer, Diaval. I've told you, you're not my servant."

Diaval drew back. "Of course. I'm sorry."

She turned at the stricken tone in her dear friend's voice. He looked so sad, and she tut-tutted at him. "Now Diaval, why the long face?" She waved a slender hand, and with a sprinkling of gold the man's face elongated into that of a dreadfully sad looking horse. He whinnied indignantly, shaking himself and changing back to his human form. Maleficent laughed, and he scowled.

"I thought we'd decided I would be responsible for my own transformations!"

"I couldn't help myself, dear."

He huffed and turned into a raven with a puff of dark smoke, landing on her shoulder and pecking petulantly at her horns. She waved him off, shooing him away with a flap of her great wings.

"You're a petty bird," she said, and he rested his small warm head against her cheek, snuggled beneath the waves of her hair. She stroked his gleaming feathers, smiling at their brightness.

"You must tell me how you make your feathers shine so. Mine look a bit sad after being in a cage for so long."

Diaval changed form so quickly the transformation was incomplete, his anxious face still flecked with feathers and his sleek hair standing up in a plume.

"No, they're perfect!" he assured her, and she gave him a long, measured look. Then she drew the raven closer, smoothing his hair with her hands and a small dusting of magic.

"You're a kind friend, Diaval. Kinder than I deserve," she told him softly, and he caught her hands before she could release him fully.

"No. You deserve...everything," he said earnestly, seemingly at a loss for what exactly he believed she deserved and settling for the broadest thing he could imagine. She was startled by his vehement response, as her manservant was usually soft spoken.

"I mean-not everything. You deserve a happy and peaceful life surrounded by beautiful things and people who love you. You've been through so much, and so much of it was wrong. You deserve better than me, better than anyone can give you."

It all came out in a rush, and once it had the Raven seemed alarmed by his confession, for he backed away hurriedly, trying to gather himself enough to transform and fly away, but Maleficent caught his dark coat sleeve and held him fast.

"Diaval?"

Her tone was stern, and he turned towards her obediently.

"Yes Mistress?"

She sighed, tucking a strand of dark hair out of his face. "I am not your Mistress. But I would beseech you to answer me honestly when I ask you this. Is there something you need to tell me?"

Distressed feathers sprang back into his hair and along his fingers, and she soothed them away gently.

"I-I...I would like to be one of them," he managed, and she waited expectantly for him to continue. "One of...the people. I would like to stay by your side, if you'll have me."

"You silly bird," she chided, which made him start, "where else would I let you go? Manservant or not, I wouldn't last a day without you."

His plumage ruffled, and he turned a pleased and embarrassed shade of maroon. She laughed and drew him to her side, embracing him.

"You seem surprised."

"I am...glad to be needed," he admitted, and she tucked his head into the hollow of her neck, stroking his hair.

"Oh my Diaval. Surely you don't believe I could ever not need you."

He breathed softly against her skin, the silence of the early morning shrouding them in stillness.

"I'll always need you."

"Is that a promise?"

She folded her wings around him in a warm, feathery embrace.

"It is."

"I suppose I'll stick around until you get tired of me then, Mistress," he murmured.

"That is quite unlikely to happen, you know."

"Why?"

"Oh...something about birds of a feather and all that." She was blushing slightly. Diaval laughed, stroking the silky wings encasing them.

"Flock together?"

She kissed his pale brow. "And stay together. Always."

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_**I appreciate your readership, thanks for your support!**_


	4. Request: In the Line of Fire

**Hey everyone! This drabble was a request from Agent ERA ( u/2131427/Agent-ERA). Hope you enjoy! Set right after Mal and Diaval storm the christening party. Genres angst and friendship, rated T.**

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**In the Line of Fire**

Maleficent stumbled from Diaval's back as he landed at the base of Hometree. They had been pursued from the castle, hunted by dogs and men to the edge of the Moors where her thorn wall had been their only salvation. She had transformed Diaval into a great eagle to fend off their hunters and carry her to safety, and as he staggered on taloned feet she realized his black feathers were slick with blood.

She changed him to his human shape and he collapsed against her, clutching his side.

"Let me see," she knelt with him, peeling his dark coat away from his pale skin. He was covered in grime from their hasty flight, and she realized she couldn't tell what was grime and what was blood in his dark hair.

She summoned water from the nearby river, washing his face and neck as he shivered in and out of consciousness. A guard's arrow had pierced his side, and the broken shaft protruded from his torso. He had taken a glancing blow to the face from a spear during their escape and the gash ran down his right cheekbone and continued across his collarbone, deep enough to show muscle and flesh.

"Oh Diaval," she breathed, cursing not for the first time her own selfishness and lack of foresight. He always suffered for her mistakes.

"Remove what is foreign," she whispered, hands glowing gold as she bent over the arrow shaft, and he groaned as the iron head eased from his flesh and fell, hissing red hot from Faerie magic to the earth.

Blood oozed from the wound and she held him to her, hands crossed over his ribcage.

"Mend what is broken."

The golden glow of her power illuminated his face, and the wound sealed beneath her fingers. She wiped away the blood, and felt her heart sink. The damage had been sealed by raised scar tissue, uneven and pale.

His cheek wound was still bleeding, and she leaned in, pressing her fingers to the open gash down his face and neck. The flesh crawled together, forming a ridge across his pale brow and down his collarbone.

"Mmm..." He blinked only eyes, and they focused on her face groggily. "Mistress? Are you alright?"

She smiled gently. "I am. Are you?"

He sat up, touching his head as if dizzy. His fingers grazed the new scar on his body and he blinked owlishly, touching it curiously.

"What happened? How long was I out?" He asked, and she took his hand away from his face.

"Not long. I...I tried to heal you. Injuries done by iron weapons can only be mended so much by Faerie magic. I'm sorry, I thought you might die if I let it alone."

He nodded, seeming dazed from loss of blood. "I think you should sleep now, Diaval."

"I think you're right," he agreed, and promptly slumped over in her arms. She changed him to a much more portable raven form, and was dismayed as she lifted him into her arms to find the scarring was still present.

She had saved him, but scarred him forever.

How much damage would he take for her revenge?

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**_I was curious about the things on Diaval's face and neck and so I gave them a backstory. Hope you enjoyed, if you request a drabble I'll do my best to give you what you asked! Much love Malefifreaks._**


	5. Fairy Godmother

_**None of these lovely babies are mine. **_

_**This drabble takes place during the movie, focuses more on Maleficent and Aurora, is fluff, angst, and a little comedy, rated K+**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

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**I Appoint Thee, Fairy Godmother**

I can feel Diaval's dark eyes on me as we trek back through the wall of thorns, but he says nothing. He never says anything, even when he has something to say.

"What?" I demand at last, unable to bear his heavy silence, and he hops anxiously.

"So you're going to go along with it then?"

"Along with what?"

"Fairy Godmother?" He says it a bit disbelievingly, and I toss him a disdainful look and continue my long stride, forcing him to hurry after me.

"And why not? Let the child think what she likes. She'll find out the truth when the time comes." That thought sends a spike of strange, deep pain through my chest. _She'll find out you're a monster._

"Well I, for one," Diaval says as he clambers after me up to the tree we've claimed as our own, "think it suits you."

I stop suddenly, turning on him with narrowed eyes.

"I will turn you into a dung fly again if you spout nonsense," I warn, and he holds up his pale, long fingered hands in surrender.

"It's just-" he pauses, looking into my eyes in that way he has when he's seeing something I can't. He looks into my soul with those dark raven's eyes and I turn away.

"She thinks highly of you," he comments as I climb the spiraling staircase I have grown from the tree's bark over the years to help a wingless Faerie into the tree.

"That is her folly, and none of my concern," I grumble, dropping my staff at my bedside, and with a wave of my hand I change him back to his sleek black self.

"Now go to sleep and cease your heckling."

"I can't understand why you can cover me with river slime using your magic but not clean me off afterwards!"

I arch an eyebrow at Diaval's complaining as he pulls his black coat off, tossing his black hair out of his eyes indignantly. He is proud as a bird in any form he takes, and as he is currently coated in muck is in a foul mood.

"You deserved it you feathered fool," I inform him haughtily, drawing the wayward mud from my own face and neck with a coaxing of magic. He watches me with pouting lips and a furrowed brow.

"I can change you into a fish if you like. You can swim about in the water until you're clean and-"

"No! No, I'm quite fine in my current form," he protests hastily, backing away. He yanks off his boots and squirms out of his trousers, edging away from me modestly, although it isn't as if he has anything I've never seen.

"I do hate human bathing, though," he admits, testing the water with a cautious toe, and I glance away but gently nudge him in with a puff of golden mirth. He loses his balance and lands full-body in the cool water, coming up spluttering and gasping.

"You-You devil woman!" he shrieks, "Is it your game to torment me?"

"Oh stop your squawking, Diaval," I chide, lifting him from the river and urging the water to separate from his skin and hair, leaving him dry on the riverbank. He scowls, brushing his now unkempt hair from his eyes and snatching his clothes.

"These too."

I oblige with a wave of my hand, and he tugs them back on and slumps down beside me as the water sprites paint their bright patterns on the water upriver, laughing and giggling amongst themselves. Already I find myself missing the girlchild's bright presence.

"She seemed to enjoy herself," Diaval says, as if privy to my thoughts.

"Did she?" I feign ignorance, and he gives me a sardonic look.

"You live up to her name for you, Faerie Godmother," he says teasingly, and I wave his comment away.

"I bear no ill will towards the child. She is curious, and I am foolish enough to believe she will do no harm here. That is all."

He stands up, stretches, and offers me his hand.

"Whatever you say, Godmother."

"Diaval?" I call as he makes his way down the Treestairs, attempting to do so in human form. He nearly stumbles off at my call.

"Yes Mistress?"

"I want you to take a day for yourself." He falls off the tree in earnest and comes to kneel at my side, eyes glittering curiously like a bird's.

"What? Why?"

I take his hand, stroking his silky hair. "You're a devoted servant Diaval, and you've stayed by my side for many years without question or complaint. Do whatever you wish today, and return to me at nightfall."

His confused expression reminds me of a dog who has been kicked without reason, although Diaval would loathe the comparison to a canine. "Have I done something wrong?"

I rest my forehead against his briefly. "No. Please do this for me, Diaval."

He lifts my hand, kisses it gently and rises. "I'd like to spend my day off in my proper form, if you don't mind," he suggests in a too-cheery tone, but I know he will not question me further and I change him back to the sleek bird and watch him fly away into the bright sun. I rise, and turn to the thorn wall to retrieve the girlchild whose sixteenth year was far too nigh.

The grey Ajatar***** rumbles happily as Aurora strokes its scaly head, hair golden in the sunshine. I watch, sharply aware of the absence of my shadow and of the heavy news I must bestow upon the princess. She seems so happy, but I have prepared myself for this day. It has to be now, or her birthday will dawn before I have a chance to speak.

"Aurora," I call, "come here," and she hurries over, bringing with her the scent of honeysuckle and roses.

"Sit," I ask, and she does. Her face glows with youth and beauty and her hair is adorned with wildflowers from the Moorfolk who are as enamored with her as the humans will be. "There's something I need to tell you."

She looks curious, but not afraid. "What is it?"

I have practiced how to say this, how to tell her of my mistake. The words sound false now as they leave my lips.

"There is an evil in this world...and I cannot keep you from it."

She visibly relaxes, as if this were the least of her fears. "I'm almost sixteen, Godmother. I can take care of myself."

What carefree folly, what foolish youth! But she does not know any better. "I understand," I concede, struggling to make her understand, "but that's not what I have to tell"

"I have a plan," she interjects, "When I'm older, I'm going to live here in the Moors with you! Then we can look after each other."

I allow myself to imagine such a life, careless and peaceful, frolicking with the Moorfolk and picking sweet smelling bouquets, just me and Diaval and Aurora. I look at the hopeful shining face of the girlchild I cursed, and tell myself sternly I cannot be responsible for dousing those hopes.

"You don't have to wait until you're older. You could live here now," I tell her softly, conspiratorially, as if it is our little secret, as if I can protect her from the evil I placed in her path, and her smile is more blinding than the sun.

"Then I will!" She declares, standing up and brushing past, the air she displaces tasting of summertime. "I'll sleep in a tree, and eat berries and black nuts-and all the Fair People will be my friends! I'll be happy here for the rest of my life."

She turns back to me, and she must see something in my eyes, because she quiets her buzzing energy, shies nervously like a skittish horse.

"I'm going to tell my Aunties tomorrow."

I smile weakly. "Until tomorrow."

I gaze at the sun setting behind the mountains in a blaze of color and fire, and a dark shape lands on the branch beside me. Diaval hops closer, and I smile, stroking his sleek feathers. He flutters agitatedly, and I change him with a snap into a man sitting unsteadily on the branch. He clutches a hold, and looks at me questioningly.

"How was your day off?" I ask, and realization dawns in his eyes as the sun dies.

"You told her?"

I sigh into the fresh night.

"No, Diaval. I am even weaker than we thought."

_And far too invested in the title Godmother._

"Godmother! Godmother!"

Her cries are desperate, ringing through the Moors. I find her easily, not that I am ever far away. She stops in front of me, her eyes are red and her cheeks glisten with tears.

"When were you going to tell me I'm cursed?" she accuses, but not yet quite the accusation I fear most. "Is it true?" And yet still she hopes. She dares to hope that she is wrong, that I am not an evil, wicked thing who has lied to her all her life. I cannot lie any longer.

"It is."

She chokes for breath, not believing. "My Aunties said it was an evil Faery. But I can't remember her name…" she looks at me, looks away, wondering if I will help her, hoping that I won't.

I do.

"Maleficent."

The name sounds sudden and jolting in the windy air, but I speak it with power and she knows. She stares at me, lip trembling. I have nothing to say. I cannot keep her from this evil.

"Is that you?" she whimpers, "are you Maleficent?"

I take a step towards her, suddenly overcome with the thought that I can change this, I can keep her in the moors, away from harm if only she will let me-

"No!" she cries, voice hoarse with betrayal, "Don't touch me!"

We gaze across the vast space between us, and my heart splinters like a falling tree.

"You're the evil that is in this world."

_Fairy Godmother Fairy Godmother Fairy Godmother-_

_Maleficent. _

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_**Thanks so much for reading I love youuuu!**_

_***Ajatar is the Finnish name for dragon. I couldn't find any lore on what these animals might be so I made it up. I decided they're small flying serpents related to/descended from dragons.**_


	6. Leap of Faith

_**Timeframe during Movie, genre angst and friendship, rating K+**_

_**Thanks for sticking with me!**_

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**A Leap of Faith**

The boy faded into the distant trees, leaving Aurora breathless and fluttery, her cheeks tinged a light pink. One of the silent watchers in the trees turned to his Mistress, hopping up and down on the branch excitedly. When the horned Faerie failed to acknowledge him he flew at her, buzzing her with his wings. She ducked away.

"Stop doing that," she reprimanded, but he did it again, squawking, unable to form the human words he needed with a raven's beak. She snapped her fingers, looking annoyed, and he materialized into human form, moving to her side urgently. He looked at the boy, then back at Maleficent. She had the same poised, detached look as always, and seemed not to share his enthusiasm.

"Well?" he asked breathlessly, nodding after the prince. She looked at him as if she did not follow. "That boy could be the answer!"

She laughed derisively. "No, Diaval," she said as if he were a child, as if he were a fool. He felt anger and confusion warring in his human heart for dominance.

"Yes," he argued, "True Love's Kiss, remember, it can break the spell!"

"True Love's Kiss?" He nodded. "Have you not worked it out yet?" She looked at him with cold eyes, and his stomach knotted in dismay.

"I cursed her that way because there is no such thing." Her voice dripped venom, acid, and he wanted to reach out to her but feared her thorns.

"Well that might be how you feel, but what about Aurora?" He refused to give up hope so easily. Not on Aurora, the beautiful baby girl they had watched grow into a young woman. Not their goddaughter. "That boy could be our only chance."

She turned to him with fire in her eyes, and he felt a hedge of thorny spite lash out with his tongue. "It's her fate, anyway." _Not yours _was implied, and she looked at him sharply. He would have tensed, waiting for the dissolving feeling, the smoke and the new body. But not this time.

"Go ahead, turn me into whatever you want. A bird, a worm." He searched her eyes for the warmth he knew they could possess, but found none. "I don't care anymore."

He walked away, wishing that once, just _once_, she would take a leap of faith.

But he knew it would take more than Faith to make Maleficent believe in love.

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**_Much Love, Malefifreaks. (Do we have a fandom name? We should. We can join OUAT and all be the Evil Regals. Because Evil Queens that's why)_**


	7. My Fight

**_So I thought the scene in the movie where Maleficent and Diaval go in after Aurora was absolute shit, so I rewrote it ^_^ Rated T ish, angst and romance. Thanks for reading!_**

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**My Fight**

As soon as I had two legs again I felt them start to tremble as a knot settled in my human stomach. The Palace was completely deserted outside, a dark fortress waiting in wait like a great black maw.

"They've pulled the guards," I pointed out nervously, "He's waiting for you in there."

Her eyes glowed with venomous green fire. She was furious, dangerous, desperate. Terrifying, powerful. And beautiful.

"If we go in those walls, you'll never come out alive," I said softly, wishing I could beg her not to go, knowing she would do so anyway.

"Then don't come."

Her retort was sharp and stung like nettles, and she glanced at me with words that numbed my bones and ignited a fire in my chest.

"It's not your fight."

She moved to enter, and I grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. She looked startled at my forwardness and more so at the ferocity she must have seen in my eyes.

"Don't start that! Don't you dare!" I hissed, not sure if I was angry or hurt or both. "You know damn well that this has been my fight from the very start. I'm not letting you go in alone."

"You are released from my servitude!" she ordered, slamming her staff down, and I stood my ground, puffing up like a threatened bird.

"I'm not leaving you, Maleficent!" I shouted, "You'll kill yourself in there!"

"Then let me die!" She sounded broken, the cool exterior of control and hatred she had used to shield herself from me all these years cracking open. "Let me do what I can to save her and should it come to pass, let me go from this world." She placed her hands on my face, pressing her forehead to mine.

"You've served me well these years, Diaval. But I cannot ask you to follow me into certain death."

I gripped her hands, willing my life energy to pass through my skin to hers, to give her my strength.

"Our little girl is inside-" My voice broke, and I cleared my throat. "Aurora needs us. She means the world to me too. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try."

_And you mean more to me than the world or anything in it. _

Maleficent released me, but I caught her hand and stopped her one last time. Our eyes met, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"If we live through this, I have to tell you-"

"We must hurry, Diaval," she interrupted, and I tightened my hold on her.

"Remind me later."

With the prince floating behind us, we made our way into the castle and, almost certainly, towards our death.

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**_Love you all, my Malefifreaks. Thanks for reading, drop a review, a suggestion for a drabble, a hello, etc. See you next chapter._**


	8. Things That Turn a Raven On Part 1

_**Am I the only one who thought this scene in the movie was (although it could have been more so) super sexy on Mal's part? Well, I'd imagine Diaval thought so too. **_

_**Established relationship, during-movie, genre romance and comedy, rated T.**_

_**None of them are mine! Thanks for reading, and Happy Summer Solstice everyone!**_

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**Things that Turn a Raven On Part 1**

My heart beat rapidly as we lay in wait, barely daring to breathe, in Stefan's palace. Philip floated over my shoulder, anchored by his belt looped around my wrist. The iron Faerie maze had burned her in several places, but she showed no sign of pain now.

We paused in a hallway behind a curtain, and she caught my eye and indicated for me to wait. She gestured for me to let Philip go, and he drifted towards the ceiling, blissfully unaware of his involvement in our rescue plan.

The nearby guard came over cautiously, most likely extremely confused. As he neared, Maleficent got a tighter grip on her staff, and I wondered what exactly she was planning to do with it.

She swung out from behind the curtain and cracked her hawthorne staff against the guard's iron helm, the clang reverberating through the halls. He dropped like a rock, and I watched her swagger down the hallway without a pause or a loss of confidence. I grabbed Philip and followed, and she raised an eyebrow at my awed look.

"What?"

"Just...that was a tiny bit sexy," I admitted, and she cocked a half-smirk-one-eyebrow-up combination that can really get a Raven's blood roiling.

"I know," she said flippantly and strode off down the hall. I swore under my breath and followed after my very sexy, very trapped Mistress.

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**_And as you may have guessed, as this is labeled Part 1, there will be at least a Part 2, if not more ;) Stay tuned, Readers! _**


	9. Request: Play Date

**Request from I Love Milarion 1201 u/4967350/I-luv-Milarion-1201**

**Set about ten years after the movie, thanks to****Aspen1044 for the names! Genre romance, family, fluff, and rainbows. Rated E for Extremely Sappy Fluff, also for Everyone. **

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**Play Date**

"Aaaaaah! Stop it, stop it, stop it!" A young girl shrieked and squealed as the Wallerbogs splashed the small girlchild with clear riverwater. She had finally reached her fifth year, and as promised, her mother and father had taken her on her first trip to the Moors.

"Take that!" Her brother took a handful of mud and lobbed it at one of the squat creatures, but his eight year old aim was not the best and he ended up splattering the pale blue fabric of his sister's dress with black muck. She looked down at her gown, then her face turned red as she prepared to throw a royal tantrum.

"Wait, wait, stop right there." A pale man with sleek black hair intervened, stepping between the siblings. He crouched down to be on eye level with them, inky eyes serious.

"You know how to deal with little boys who don't play nice, Loreana?" he whispered conspiratorially, and the child's dark eyes widened.

"What?"

He handed her a pile of mud, gesturing his head at the blonde haired boy, and she grinned fiercely.

"Hey Mal!" He turned and received a faceful of mud for his trouble. The fight escalated to include nearly every creature in the vicinity, and the raven dark man backed away quickly to the group of watching adults.

"You're an absolutely awful influence," King Philip pointed out, and Queen Aurora nudged his shoulder with hers.

"Oh he is not. This is where I played when I was young."

"I agree with your husband for once," Maleficent interjected, "They'll grow up to be vicious little beasties like their mother at this rate."

"I've quite grown out of that nickname, Godmother," Aurora said petulantly, and the Faerie arched an eyebrow. They all knew that wasn't true.

"Mother, mother!" Loreana waddled over, caked head to toe, but paused as she realized the adults were still clean.

"You should give your godfather a hug, darling," Philip suggested, and Diaval received the muck-coated armful of child good humoredly, hugging her tightly and swinging the chocolate haired child off the ground. The momentum splattered the others with river mud, and Philip yelped and fell backwards off the treeroot upon which he had perched. Aurora laughed delightedly, and Maleficent started as she was hit in the face by Moor sludge.

"Mal! Protect your King!" Philip called from his shelter behind the tree, and his golden-haired son leapt onto Diaval's back, clinging there like a spider monkey.

"Don't use our children like shields!" Aurora chastised, gathering a handful of mud, and when her husband turned to retort she caught him full in the face with it.

"That's it! I'm declaring Rayume a Patriarchy and committing Mariticide!" He tackled his wife around the waist into the water, soaking them both. The adults laughed and giggled as they wrestled, and the Wallerbogs croaked and hooted, tossing muck galore.

Diaval stumbled under the weight of the prince and princess, laughing breathlessly, towards Maleficent. She moved back a bit, eyeing the filthy children.

"Come on, Godmother," he teased, and Loreana dropped from his neck and held out her arms to the Faerie. Maleficent surrendered and lifted the child into her lap, stroking back the mud caked hair and raising an eyebrow.

"I know the princess is in here somewhere…" she commented, wiping the mud away from Loreana's eyes, and then she smiled. "Ah! There she is. Such pretty eyes. Like her mother's."

"I want eyes like yours, Godmother," Mal called from Diaval's back, and the Faerie glanced at the child named after her.

"Your eyes are perfect as they are. Not that I can see them through the layer of filth on you right now, you beastie."

"Mal! Loreana! Help!" Aurora squealed as Philip dragged her back down into the river, and the children ran screaming for their parents. Loreana clung to Philip's leg, and Mal jumped on his back, small arms tight.

"No! I have been vanquished! Avenge me!" Philip groaned, falling to his knees and then onto his face in the clear water, and the children cried imploringly for their father to return to life. After a moment he came up gasping, grabbing one in each arm as they squealed in surprise and delight.

Diaval sat heavily beside Maleficent, laughing and wiping mud from his face. "Ohh they're quite a handful," he said breathlessly, and she smiled.

"They have been raised to be loved. Aurora and Philip are wonderful parents."

Her fond expression warmed his heart, and he pecked a kiss to her cheek. "You showed Aurora how."

"_We_ showed her," she corrected, looping a finger through the strings on Diaval's shirt, and pulled him closer so she could place a brief kiss on his lips.

"Eeeewwwww!" Mal was pointing at the immortals and making sick noises, but Loreana beamed.  
"You don't like kisses, Mal?" Aurora said, sounding shocked, and her boy suddenly looked abashed.

"I like _your_ kisses, mommy," he amended, crawling into her lap where she kissed his forehead.

"He's quite a Mama's boy," Diaval commented, too quiet for the mother and child to hear, but loud enough for the father. Philip glowered and pulled Loreana into his arms where she was asking by way of raised arms.

"I want a kiss from daddy!" She begged, and he wiped the tip of her nose clean of mud and kissed it, making her giggle.

"Kisses for everyone!" She kissed Philip's nose back, then squirmed down to kiss her brother, who wiped his cheek grumpily, her mother who beamed proudly, and then toddled over to the Fae.

"A kiss? For me? Why princess, I'm just a lowly raven!" Diaval said dramatically as she approached expectantly, and giggled as he feigned a swoon. Then he leaned down and offered his cheek, which Loreana kissed sloppily before scrambling into Maleficent's lap.

"Godmother! Kisses!"

Maleficent accepted the child's kiss to her severe cheekbone, then placed her full red lips to Loreana's brow. The child giggled and blushed, hurrying back to her mother who grinned and hugged her children where they all sat by the riverbank, and Maleficent smiled softly.

How had she ever not believed in True Love?

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******Thanks for reading! **


	10. I Am Not The One

_**Wow thank you all so, so, so much for your favorites, follows, and comments! I'm so blown away by your readership and so flattered by your praise! You are beautiful and handsome and wonderful and I love you so much! Thanks my Malefifreaks!**_

_**A little Malora from Diaval's pov, in which Maleficent's true love and Diaval's do not align. Angst ensues, rated T I guess.**_

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**I Am Not The One**

We creep into the room, secreting behind the curtains. _Please let this work_, I send up a thought to any deity who might listen for a Raven-turned-man's desperate prayer. Philip stumbles to Aurora's side, even more confused and addle-brained than a normal adolescent boy.

"An enchantment, you say?"

"Kiss her!" the Pixies squeal, and I see my Mistress tense, every muscle taut as iron. I rest a hand on her arm.

The boy leans in, achingly slowly, and presses a kiss to the sleeping princess' pale lips. I hold my breath; so does Maleficent, so do the Pixies. He draws away, but by the sag of his shoulders and the sighs of the Pixies, I know it was unsuccessful. Maleficent averts her eyes in despair.

"You didn't do it properly!"

"It's supposed to be True Love's Kiss!"  
"I was certain he was the one…"

"We have to keep looking!"

The Pixies drag the Prince from the room, and I wonder if they plan to scour the kingdom, bringing every young man in the land to press a kiss to the girlchild's lips. The thought is even more dismal than the idea of her lying asleep and undisturbed forever. I watch the young woman in dismay, my mind racing through plans, each as unlikely to succeed as the last.

"I told you." Maleficent says it softly, in a voice so defeated it breaks my heart. I glance over at her, and she is gazing at the ground, her proud shoulders slumped. She's given up.

She passes out from behind the curtain, slowly moving to Aurora's side. Her gait is that of a pallbearer, her posture stiff with pain or grief. I can only watch her. I'm helpless to help her.

"I will not ask your forgiveness," she says quietly to the girl in deathly stillness and silence. "For what I've done to you is unforgivable."

She takes a soft, stuttering breath. I feel tears burning my human eyes, and I bow my head.

"I was so lost in hatred and revenge. You stole what was left of my heart. And now I've lost you forever." Her voice is brittle like fresh frost on grass, and breaks at the end. I have never seen my Mistress cry before, and now a tear rolls down her face.

Maleficent has been through so much, and been hurt so deeply so many times. She claims not to believe in love. I can understand that, although I don't agree with it.

"I swear, no harm will come to you as long as I live. And not a day shall pass that I don't miss your smile."

She leans closer, leaving a kiss on the girl's sleeping brow before closing her eyes to stop the cascade of tears trying to escape them. She bites a trembling lip, swallows a sob.

I feel a strange, sharp pang as I realize she is wrong. True Love does exist, and she is intimately acquainted with its pains. She loves someone very deeply indeed.

I drop my eyes.

"Hello Godmother."

Maleficent freezes. Our eyes meet; hers are wide, stunned, disbelieving. She turns, and a smile of relief spreads across her face.

"Hello Beastie," she greets, half laughing, half crying. She rests a hand atop Aurora's, and I smile. I should be ecstatic at a moment like this, but I can't quell the biting and ironic pain.

"No true love," I murmur, and laugh, shaking my head.

_Not for you. _

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_**Poor birdy this is why I ship Maleval because then everyone gets to live happily ever after (except Stefan because he's a douche canoe)**_


	11. Protect Me

**_Thank you all for reading! These babies aren't mine :(_**

_**Genre action, rated T.**_

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**Protect Me**

Maleficent and Aurora padded softly down the stairs, crossing the deserted hallway carefully. The whole palace seemed to be deserted. I fluttered along the walls, checking corridors nervously. It was too quiet. I was thrilled we had broken the curse, and ecstatic to see the enormous burden lifted from Mistress' shoulders, but it was not the time to let our guard down.

Maleficent beckoned to Aurora, who had fallen behind. She seemed to be sharing my fears.

Suddenly an ominously loud click sounded from above, and an enormous chain link net struck Maleficent down. She screamed as the metal scorched her skin, and Aurora cried out and ran to her. Guards were streaming from the corridors, and I frantically flew at them as they approached my Mistress with spears and swords.

_Protect me._

I dive bombed a guard, but one struck me with a gauntleted hand and I staggered, winded. Useless, helpless, strengthless-

"Into a Dragon."

Her words enveloped me like an updraft of summer air, her golden magic catching my wings. I felt the tingling of transformation, felt my flesh stretch, my bones grow heavy. Something hot and ancient burned in my belly, and I gazed upon the humans with a sudden sense of power, an immeasurable rage.

I exhaled flame and wrath upon them like the hellfire of their devil. They fled screaming, burning, howling with pain. _Protect me_.

Maleficent slumped beneath her iron prison, and I roared with fury, slamming through a line of men with my two-ton tail, smashing armor and bone. _Protect me_.

I crouched defensively over her, biting the iron netting with my teeth the size of swords and hauling it up and away, felling guards with their own torturous trap. She rolled to safety, but the dozens of guards were becoming hundreds, all with their attention focused on the dragon in their parlor. My skin stung as with nettles as they showered me with spears, arrows, and sword strikes, piercing my hide in a dozen places. Panic took over, animal forcing human consciousness down as I flailed and roared, spewing fire. Voices screamed-one seemed familiar.

_Protect me._

I thrashed in pain and frenzy, and suddenly was pulled down as a chain flew over my neck, anchored by men on either side. I pulled against it, but another caught my leg, a third wrapped around my muzzle.

Movement in the corner of my eye. Shields, war shields, weilded by men, surrounding Maleficent. I jerked forcefully, sending a line of guards tumbling, but more took their place, anchoring me with chains, binding a wing, my flailing tail, my legs

_Protect me._

Unable to speak, I roared. Flames flickered all around; my feet fell from beneath me, pulled out by soldiers, and I fell hard on my right wing, struggling, writhing, desperate to regain my feet. They stabbed me viciously with all manner of weapon-I could not see Maleficent.

_Protect me!_

A beat rose up from the shields, and the sound of iron striking flesh sounded above the melee. I cried out, kicking, screaming. We had never planned to die here.

Suddenly, through my haze of pain and panic, a golden light outshone the dragonfire that burned in the great hall. I strained to look-

Maleficent hovered there, framed in fire, supported by a pair of magnificent tawny wings. She was beautiful, terrible, perfect.

"Kill her!"

Projectiles flew from every direction to strike her down, and suddenly the dragon in the room wasn't the greatest threat. They turned attention from me, and she struck down a fiery chandelier, causing enough disruption for me to wrench free, roaring triumphantly.

We wrought havoc on them, shattering them, scattering them. I smeared the hall with their blood, thickened the air with their ash.

_Protect me._

I swore on that day in the field to be her servant, and serve I would. I would protect her until death took us both, if need be. I fought through pain and fear and reason until at last, there was no one left to fight.

The King was dead, and his forces fled, leaving a wounded dragon, a frightened, soot-stained princess, and a renewed faerie to flee.

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_**Love you all! I'll try to respond to every drabble request in some form along the way.**_


	12. Request: I Believe in You

_**Set quite a few years after the movie. Backstory is that Aurora's kingdom (which I've named Rayume because none of the disney kingdoms have any goddamn names) is going to war with Snow White's kingdom when the stepmother is ruling. Slight Once Upon A Time referenced crossover.**_

_**Requested by addicted2memorie**_

**_Genre angst, romance, angst, some gore, more angst._**

**_Enjoy!_**

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**I Believe in You**

Maleficent gazed at her reflection in the still water, her wings held high and back. She'd donned her battle armor; all thick black leather and thin wooden plating of Ironwood arranged like scales. Her wings wore nothing. They were protection enough alone.

Today the Moors were going to battle once more. After nearly a decade of peace between the Moorfolk and Aurora's kingdom of Rayume, a new threat had arisen from the North to destroy their gentle world.

"Milady?"

She turned, and smiled slightly. Despite the grim circumstances, Diaval managed to bring a smile to her face. He was dressed in human armor himself, but it was too large for the gangly thing and the helm kept slipping down over his eyes. She moved closer, lifting it from his head.

"Let me," she suggested, and with her magic resized the steel helmet for him. She smoothed back his sleek ebony locks and slid the helmet back on, and this time it fit snugly. The rest of his armor still hung awkwardly, but if things got serious he wouldn't stay in human form to use it for very long.

"Your hair," he pointed to it, and she glanced at the long brown locks. "You should put it up."

She turned and sat down on a log, waiting expectantly. Diaval combed the sienna strands back with his fingers, braiding it tightly. He tied the end off with a small piece of brightly colored string from his coat pocket, and she glanced at it curiously. He blushed.

"I'm still a raven at heart, you know. I collect pretty things."

She took his hands, drawing him to sit beside her, and rested her forehead against his.

"Keep them safe. Aurora and Philip are in your care."

He cupped her hands where they rested on the sides of his helm. "As if I'd let anything happen to them. You keep yourself safe, alright? I won't forgive you if you're careless."

She kissed his steel brow. "I shall. Go to them. If we are pushed back, we shall join forces at the ruins."

He took a running start and transformed with a trail of smoke into an iron plated raven, streaking away to the Royals' side. Maleficent turned the other way, taking a deep breath. She leapt from the hillside and rocketed into the air, soaring over the dark trees and quiet forest of the Moors. All the creatures were either hiding preparing for war.

She landed amidst the Guardians and other warriors of the Moors, and turned to face the North.

"To me!"

They began to pound their spears rhythmically on the ground, and the sound swelled like the heartbeat of a great beast, as if the very Moors were alive and breathing, as if they would help her fight back.

"To me!"

The beat increased in pace and volume. She snapped her wings out, heart pumping. The sounds of howling wolves and heavy horses crashing through foliage became audible, and the stamping became a roar in her ears.

"Hold your ground! Do not let them pass!"

Then the two forces clashed, a force of nature with all the violence and power of wave and shore.

Who would be worn away was yet to be seen.

Diaval stepped carefully over a smoking tree guardian, trying not to breath the air that hung thick with smoke and ash. The forces from the North had burned a great swath in the Moors, but had been pushed back successfully. The day was won.

But Diaval couldn't find Maleficent. He had fought hard on the Rayume front and bore the wounds to prove it, but the anxiety and uncertainty caused by this separation from his former mistress was proving even more painful.

"Maleficent!" He shouted, his voice echoed forlornly across the battlefield. A drop of rain hit his face, making him start and look up. Even the clouds were crying for this unnecessary bloodshed. His stomach was clenched into a knot of burning steel.

"Maleficent!"

A soft tug on his coat drew his attention, and he glanced down to find a tiny, usually shy tree spirit at his feet. It gestured with a three-fingered white hand, and he followed. It led him through the ravaged forest until they came to a small thicket of bright silver maples and bushes populated by colorful flowers. His chest clenched-the tree trunks were splattered with blood.

The spirit gestured again, and he clambered through the bushes and found himself in a tiny sheltered meadow, ringed with silent trees and illuminated by a shaft of sunlight. No ordinary meadow-a Faerie ring.

Lying in the center of the Faerie ring, he found her. She lay at a sprawl, as if she had crawled there and fallen when she could crawl no further. One of her wings was gashed and showing slick white bone, and she was breathing shallowly.

"Maleficent!"

He fell to his knees beside her, hands trembling as he checked her pulse. "Maleficent, oh gods-"

"Diaval?" she murmured, and her eyes fluttered. He turned her onto her side gently, carefully situating her damaged wing where it would be less painful to her. She groaned quietly, and he cradled her head in his lap.

"What happened?"

"T-They brought a...a sorceress. A young...human named Regina," she relayed, eyes still closed and brow furrowed. She was fighting down pain. "She was...very powerful."  
"Not more powerful than you, surely. You're the most powerful creature in the realm," he said with forced laughter, and she smiled slightly.

"Not more...more powerful than me, no. But also...not alone."

A shard of ice shot down his spine. He had left her here on her own, and she was broken and bleeding because of him. He bent over her, clenching his eyes closed as he forced the burning tears away.

"There were wolves. So many...wolves."

Her voice sounded weaker than it had a moment before. His eyes shot open and he realized that the hand cupping her shoulder was slick with blood. He tore a strip from the end of his coat, pressing it to the warmth seeping from her body. Her leather armor had been shredded by massive claws.

"You're going to be just fine. I'll get you out of here. I promise," he said, but his voice broke and she opened her eyes in time to see him begin to cry. She raised a hand, brushing his cheek with her delicate fingers.

"Shh, shh my pet," she said softly, stroking his hair. "They will not return."

He wiped his face, taking a shaky breath. "I'll take you to Hometree. Unicorn's blood can heal you, I'll find one, they're sure to give it to you after everything you've done-"

She placed a finger on his lips to quiet him, caressing his cheek. "Be still, Diaval. It won't help, and you know that. Please, just..._just-_" she emphasized as he tried to protest, "stay with me."

He swallowed hard. "I was wrong to ever leave you."

She gestured for him to come closer, and he did so, draping an arm around her shoulders as she lay her horned head on his chest. They lay in silence together, the way they did when it was cold at night at Hometree, or when she was lonely or upset but didn't want to talk about it. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair that smelled like smoke and blood, but also faintly of rain-soaked earth. She had always smelled that way to him.

"Diaval?" she murmured, and he held her tighter.

"Yes, Maleficent?" His voice was remarkably steady considering the fact that his oldest, dearest friend lay dying in his arms.

"I lied to you."

He looked down questioningly. Her eyes were closed, and her voice was faint.

"What do you mean?"

"I should have told you long ago." She sighed, the puff of air exhaled through her bloodred lips thin and soft.

"Told me what?"

She gestured him closer, and he leaned in anxiously. She was fading. He couldn't bring himself to acknowledge or accept it, but Maleficent was dying.

She placed a gentle, tender kiss on his lips, startling and stunning him, and smiled weakly, her green eyes a faded, washed out green.

"I didn't believe in love for so many years, Diaval."

She took a painful breath, and he held her fiercely, as if he could keep her in this world through sheer will alone.

"But...I believed in you. And I think it may be the same thing."

He felt as if he had struck the ground at a hundred miles and hour. His primary muscle groups ceased functioning; he couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Had she just told him...she loved him?

"I love you too, Maleficent. Gods I love you so much. I have for a long time," he said in a rush, and the admission felt like a thousand pounds being lifted from his chest. He kissed her, something he had wanted to do for so long yet lacked the courage to do so, and suddenly a brilliant golden glow shone from somewhere too close to himself to see properly. He started back, and realized that _he_ was glowing, and so was Maleficent, both of them glimmering with the warm amber color of the Faerie's power. It grew so bright he had to shield his eyes, and as suddenly as it had appeared, it stopped.

"Malefi-" he opened his eyes, blinking owlishly, and broke off midsentence.

Maleficent was standing, hair loose and wild. Her armor was gone, replaced by a simple white dress tied at the waist with twine and falling off her pale shoulders. Her wounds were gone. Diaval scrambled to his feet breathlessly, taking her hands.

"What- How-?" he fumbled for words, and she smiled.

"True Love's Kiss."

The sentence warmed him head to toe, and he grinned like an absolutely fool, winding his arms around her.

"I love you too."

She stroked her fingers through the dark hair at the base of his neck, and he kissed her the way he had always wanted to, the way she had never kissed anyone before, nor ever would again. When they broke apart, he was so weak in the knees he slumped to them, taking her down as he went. He knelt in the dewy grass holding her, and buried his face in her neck.

"I thought you were going to leave me," he sobbed quietly, and she held him tightly.

"I never will again. I said I wanted you by my side all those years ago, and I meant it." She pressed her forehead to his. "I want you by my side, forever."

He kissed her again. Now that he'd done it, he thought it may be impossible to stop. "As long as you'll have me."

Forever was a very, very long time. But Diaval had a feeling that it wouldn't be nearly long enough.

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***insert rainbow vomit gif here***


	13. Diaval Does Not Appreciate Abuse

**Not mine, never were, never will be, sad day.**

**Genre comedy, rated K+.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Diaval Does Not Appreciate Flippant Abuse of Transformative Powers**

Diaval changed with a smoky rush back from the mule I had transformed him into in order to carry Aurora back through the thorn forest to her cottage. He stumbled, getting reaccustomed to two legs, and turned to me with a furious expression on his pale face.

"You know, I put up with a lot of maltreatment from you," he fumed, and I raised my eyebrows at his tone. He never spoke to me this way-well, almost never. He was a bit on the irreverent side.

"I've let you turn me into anything that suits your fancy for the moment. I've been a man, a raven, a horse, and other things that weren't so bad. But you've turned me into a fish, a dung fly, a wolf, and now a mule?"

"When did I turn you into a dung fly?" I interrupted, and he sighed.

"The time you were angry with me. It's a cruel punishment! Or that time Aurora wanted a pet and you turned me into a cat! I was coughing up hairballs for weeks!"

"You were a cat for barely an hour. Don't complain."

"And another thing! You turned me into a rat to spy on the pixies once and left me that way! For two days!"

"I wondered where you had gotten to."

He folded his arms, brow furrowed deeply. "I promised I'd serve you, and I do. I always do anything you ask of me. But I don't appreciate your abusing me!"

"I think that might be a stretch, Diaval, I've never harmed you," I pointed out, feeling a bit irritated by this point in his tirade.

"I want you to ask me before you change me into things that I haven't expressed my approval of," he demanded, and I moved closer intimidatingly.

"Is that a request or an order?" I asked, my voice low. Diaval rarely showed such disrespect, but this time he held his ground.

"It's a statement."

"A statement?"  
"Of respect."

"Respect. You think I don't respect you?"

He looked down, and I realized that I had struck the heart of the matter. I sighed and drew him to me, stroking his sleek hair as I did when he was a raven and perched at my side.

"I do respect you, Diaval. I'm sorry for causing you such distress. I shan't change you into anything repulsive or embarrassing without your permission."

He looked up, and smiled.

"Thank you, Mistress. And, next time, could I maybe have some say in-"

"Don't push your luck."


	14. Request: Mend Me With Your Love

_**This was a request from Candra C (**_**_ u/2448034/Candra-C), hope you enjoy it love!_**

**_Genre romance, rated K+, takes place right after they rescue Aurora from Stefan's castle._**

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**Mend Me With Your Love **

Maleficent emerged from the cordoned off section of Hometree where a bed had been made up for our newly freed Princess Aurora. My Mistress looked gaunt and weary, but glowed as she had to duck to avoid hitting her horns, or more wonderfully, her newly reclaimed wings on the framing.

"How is she?" I asked nervously. The poor girl did just experience an unsatisfying, dream-ruining homecoming, fall into an eternal sleep, awake from said eternal sleep, watch her godmother and friend battle for their lives against her own kind, and lose the only blood relation she had left, all in one day.

"Sleeping," Mistress replied, sitting down beside me. I smiled at her, admiring her lovely wings.

"I'm so proud of you," I told her, and she glanced my way with a slightly surprised expression.

"You just spent several hours as a dragon. I'm rather proud of _you_."

I shrugged, then winced as a stinging pain zinged down my arm. She noticed, and moved closer.

"Are you injured? Diaval, you should have said something," she chided, and I looked down sheepishly.

"Not badly. Just some scratches."

"Let me see."

I obediently peeled off my dark coat, the fabric clinging to my human self where my blood had dried. She knelt in front of me, her slender hands moving across my broken skin.

"You were a marvelous dragon," she told me softly, and I laughed.

"Well I'm rubbish at being most things. Maybe a dragon is what I was meant to be all along!"

She smiled. "Maybe."

Her golden magic bathed us in light as she closed the skin where it had been rent by spears and swords and arrows.

"You'll have scars," she apologized, and I shrugged.

"It's not like anyone looks at this ugly mug anyway."

She looked up at me through her eyelashes, her full lips pinched in the disapproving way that made her phenomenal cheekbones even more prominent. She flicked a strand of my dark hair out of my eyes, and I flinched as that resulted in a burning pain above my right temple. She cupped my face, running her fingers through my hair as she looked for the wound.

"I'm sorry you were hurt, Diaval," she said out of the blue, and I shrugged as her golden light healed the wound on my brow. She glanced down, and my heart did a strange little flip at her proximity.

"I still live, don't I? I'm harder to get rid of than that!"

She kissed the now-scar on my forehead, and my breathing quickened.

"I'm certainly grateful for that," she said gently, and I finally let myself think about how close I had come to losing her today. I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face in her shoulder, taking a deep breath, breathing her in. She smelled like petrichor, and fresh leaves, and ponderosa bark, and melting streams; she smelled like subtle flowers that you could only smell at the peak heat of a summer day, and even then only for an instant. She smelled like everything I had ever loved.

"Diaval? Are you alright?"

I pulled away, laughing so she wouldn't see that I had almost broken down. "Fine, fine. Just couldn't resist you for a moment there," I teased, and her expression softened. She stroked my hair away from my brow, and my smile faded. "I _am_ fine though. Just...I thought I would lose both my girls today! I don't like thinking about it."

"Your girls?"

I flushed slightly at her raised eyebrow, but refused to back down.

"Yes, my girls. You and Aurora are the two most important people in my life! If I lost you, I'd probably cease to exist on the spot. Especially you, Mistress." _Why had I admitted that? I shouldn't have. Stupid! Foolish! Gah! _"Anyway, I'm all fixed up now so no more reason to worry. I'll just get some beauty sleep-"

She gripped my chin as I tried to turn my head, to escape the situation I had put myself in. I looked up at her insistence.

"You really think you'd cease to exist?"

"Well, I mean-" I fumbled, "I haven't been away from you for seventeen years or so by now. How am I to know what I'd do without you? Who I'd be? I…" her expression put a stop to my jesting tone. "I'd be dead without you."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration."

"Not at all. I've outlived my natural raven lifespan by now, probably twice over. You gave me back my life, and you gave me a life I could never have had with anyone but you. I'm just glad I didn't lose that."

She hummed in intrigue, and caressed my jawline. "That's sweet, Diaval. You should express your feelings more often."

"I would if you'd let me have an opinion that differs from yours!" I pointed out, then regretted my disrespectfulness. She raised an eyebrow.

"What is your opinion of me?"

"You're my Mistress and you're always right and you're always beautiful," I recited automatically, and she cuffed me over the head.

"I mean really."

"Oh." I glanced at her, then away. "You are beautiful. And usually right," I pointed out, but continued. "Very strong. Very driven. Very determined. Honorable. Brave. Did I already say beautiful?"

She continued her soothing stroking of my hair, and smiled at me.

"Thank you, Diaval. For everything. For your devotion, your protection, your admiration. You've been indispensable to me these last seventeen years." She pressed a hand to my chest, her eyes falling closed.

"It's time to set you free."

The room glowed with golden light, and I felt a strange swelling of energy and power, as if I had swallowed the sun. When her light faded, I felt so strong I wanted to run for miles, so light I could float past the sky.

"What have you-"

"I've given you sovereignty of your transformative powers. You may change at will now. To anything you wish, although some of the more complex ones may take some practice."

I threw my arms around her, beaming. "Mistress, I-thank you!" I said breathlessly, and she smiled. There was a hint of sadness in it that I didn't understand.

"You're free, Diaval. I'm not your mistress any longer."

I froze. "You...want me to leave?"

"I can't ask you to stay, you've already given me so much," she said, taking my hand. She touched the scars on my pale skin softly. "You've bled for me enough. You're a free man. Or, a free Raven, I suppose."

I bowed my head, feeling suddenly sick. She was sending me away after all this time.

"I'll be gone at first light, if that's what you wish," I said softly, and she rested her head against mine.

"Diaval...what I wish is far too selfish. Do only as you wish."

"What do you mean selfish?" I asked, and she looked into my eyes with the vibrant green orbs that danced with life and then looked away.

"I would have you stay. But I have stolen far too much of your life as it is, and I could never ask-"

She broke off because I had grabbed her behind her horns and pulled her into a kiss, a last, desperate attempt to beg her to let me stay.

"I'd never leave you unless you sent me away," I said breathlessly when I released her lips, and I dropped my head in a bow to her, already shocked by the foolishness of what I'd done. "And even if you sent me away, I'd never be able to go far. I've given you too much for that." I pressed her hand to my heart where it beat like a caged bird's. "Far too much to get back."

She stared at me in surprise, and then smiled softly. She kissed me gently with her full, crimson lips.

"I'm very, very glad you said that Diaval. I just sent my heart away, but he was too stubborn to leave."

I pulled her into an embrace, so happy that I could sprout wings and fly away. In fact, I felt a strange sensation and glanced down to find that my arms were indeed sprouting feathers at my mood.

Nothing could ever hurt again when joy like this existed in the world.

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_** Sorry for all the sappy fluff, I promise I'll write some more angst or actual plot at some point. They just turn fluffy on their own.**_


	15. Things That Turn a Raven On Part 2

_**Hey all, warnings for this chapter: there is a lemon, so the rating is M. **_

_**Takes place sometime briefly after the movie, genre romance and a bit of comedy. None of the characters are mine because jeez it's a disney movie and they wouldn't be getting into this kind of trouble unless they were mine ;)**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

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**Things That Turn a Raven On Part 2**

"I don't know...it seems a bit flashy."  
Aurora laughed at me as we played like children, donning the most ostentatious, frilly, bejeweled gowns in the queen's royal wardrobe. I thought we were a bit old to be playing dress-up, but the gowns were marvelous and my free-spirited darling rarely wore such garish things, and in a flight of fancy we had put on an impromptu display for one another.  
Aurora was dressed in a shimmering pink gown that was such a bright shade it almost hurt Maleficent's eyes, with white shoulders and a lacy petticoat. She was perfect, of course.

"Well it certainly isn't black leather with six collars and a train," she teased, and I sniffed haughtily at her jest. I looked at myself in the huge piece of reflective silver mounted on Aurora's wall, smoothing the silky violet folds of the gown's full skirts. The bodice was inlaid with gems of all kinds, and luxurious embroidered designs in silver thread hemmed the draping sleeves and floor-length skirts. Despite my griping, the dresses were glorious, and of all of them, this one had caught my eye. But I couldn't let her know that; she would insist I keep it.

"These are far too bright. If I went out in public I'd surely blind anyone who laid eyes on me."

Aurora laughed as the door opened, and we turned to find our dark-haired raven standing within the doors, where we had specifically forbidden him. From the expression on his face, I wondered if my statement about blinding were more accurate than I had thought.

"Diaval, we told you expressly to stay away!" Aurora cried, and he started and turned around, but his ears were red as if he were embarrassed. "Godmother and I are having a party."

"A party," he gave a low whistle, and a laugh. "Why wasn't I invited? I feel hurt."

"Well you can stay, I suppose," Aurora said, "but you'll have to play our servant. Bring us tea! And cakes!"

He chuckled, turning and glancing almost shyly at me. "And anything for you, your highness?" he asked, bowing low, and I waved him away, oddly flustered at being seen in such an expensive, garish thing.

"No, no. Go along."

"Oh, can we have our tea party in the garden?" Aurora asked suddenly. "We're so gorgeous, the whole palace simply must see us."

"Absolutely not!" I snapped. "You may wear whatever you wish, but I shan't gallivant about in gems and silk."

"Godmother!" The princess almost-whined, falling dramatically across the bed. "For me? No one will say anything. They know you only do it for me." She batted her pretty dark eyes. My heart melted, and I sighed.

"A _brief_ tea party. And send someone to tell Diaval or he'll bring the tea things all the way up here."

My princess all but squealed in delight and pulled me down the stairs and past startled servants out into the gardens. The sun was bright and took my breath away for a moment as we stepped into the fragrant afternoon, and she sat me down at a quaint little tea table painted white.

"Not so bad now, is it?" she said smugly, and I leaned my head back, taking in the warm sun and breathing deeply. A honeysuckle bloomed somewhere nearby, spilling its scent into the air.

"Milady, your tea," Diaval's voice announced, and I opened my eyes to find him standing in the doorway holding a teatray. He was gazing at me, almost looking starstruck. He seemed to have forgotten the tea in his hands, because Aurora had to get up and take it from him.

"Thank you, Diaval," she said with a giggle, and he blinked and turned slightly red.

"S-Sorry, you just-you're really very sparkly, Mistress," he pointed out, and I realized the gems on my bodice were throwing light all across the gardens. I closed my eyes, counted to ten. It wasn't worth getting upset.

"Oh, I realized what's been bothering me!" Aurora said through a mouthful of tea, "your hair! It's completely wrong. I'll pick some flowers! We'll braid them in."

She got up and hurried to the walls, plucking blooms of lavender, honeysuckle, daisy, and rose from the plants there. I looked at Diaval, who was fidgeting.

"What?" I asked irritably. He glanced at me, his eyes darting across me as if he wasn't sure where to focus.

"You're too bright to look at," he said with a shaky laugh, running a hand through his hair, and I stood.

"That's it, I'm taking it off."

He caught my arm as I stormed past. "No, no! You're beautiful, Maleficent, absolutely. I didn't mean it in that way. You look lovely."

I looked into his eyes, and he seemed to realize our proximity and made to step away. I caught his shirt collar, halting his retreat.

"You think I'm lovely?"

He met my eyes, rising to my challenge. "Breathtaking. Very shiny."

I moved closer coyly. "Shiny? Is this a raven thing?"

"A raven thing?" he asked sharply, but I saw from the color in his cheeks I was right, "what's that supposed to mean? I don't have _raven things_," he insisted, head bobbing in a rather ravenish way. I laughed, for I had caught him in the act.

"You absolutely do have raven things, you silly bird. You bob about and your hair gets mussed when you're cross. And you like shiny things," I said the last part slowly, moving close enough to smell his unique scent of cedar wood and dusky lavender and damp stone covered in moss.

I must have laid it on too thickly, because his breath hitched, and I could hear the thundering of his heart. His pupils were dilated, and his skin warm with the unmistakable flush of desire.

"I like them very much," he breathed, brushing my hair over my shoulder, and a thrill of warmth shivered down my spine.

"Aurora," I called, and the princess popped up behind the wall, covered in flower petals.

"Yes Godmother?"

"I heard your dear Philip calling. Why don't you go inside?"

She kissed my cheek and flounced inside, and the tension in the air skyrocketed. I turned to Diaval, and the evening sun caught the gems on my dress, throwing light in his eyes. He caught me around the waist and drew me close, and I draped my arms around his neck.

"Maleficent, I want you to know that you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

I smiled, sliding my hands into his hair.

"And you're certain you're not saying that just because I'm currently more reflective than solid silver?"

My back met the wall, and I tipped my face to be level with his. His lips brushed mine lightly, his breath shallow.

"That may be playing a part at the moment."

"Then do something about it."

He stilled at my challenging tone, and then startled me by sweeping my legs out from under me, lifting me into his arms.

We whisked into the hedge maze, turning corners and venturing deep into the sweet smelling dusk.

I pulled him down into the pampered grass, and he pressed a kiss to my lips. His whole body was trembling, and I stroked his hair as his lips trailed across my jaw and down my neck.

"Calm down," I soothed, and he pulled away, gazing at me with his dark eyes, his hair falling into them.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a bit over excited," he said softly, and I hooked a leg around his waist, pulling our bodies flush.

"Yes I can see that," I teased, and he flushed but rose to my challenge, grinding down against me. Tingling arousal spread up my spine, and I canted my head back as his lips found the sensitive juncture between neck and shoulder.

I pulled the dark coat from his shoulders, stripping his low-cut shirt away. His pale, toned chest was streaked with scars, tokens of his loyalty and devotion.

I pulled him down and reversed our position, and he swore softly as our bodies found new ways to fit together. But we weren't close enough, not nearly, and I unhooked his belt. His eyes widened, and he grabbed my hands.

"Afraid?" I asked, and he sat up, sending me sliding down into his lap. He kissed me tenderly.

"Never."

I freed him from his trousers and lifted up onto my knees, kissing him thoroughly. He tasted like blackberries and roots and growing things, and his breath was hot and heavy against my lips. I hiked my dress over my legs.

He gripped my hips and our bodies slid together like key and lock, as if they had been made for each other. I clutched handfuls of his hair, and he gasped softly against my neck. I took one of his hands and placed it on my chest, and he let his hands wander over my bejeweled bosom as we clashed together.

Suddenly he rolled us, pressing me down into the soft grass as our bodies bucked together in pleasure, and he rested his face against my neck as I clutched the corded muscles of his neck and shoulders.

"I love you," he breathed, and I caught his face in my hands and kissed him, pulling him as close to me as I could, so close that our conjoined bodies should have melded into one being. He inhaled sharply, and the expression of pure ecstasy on his face sent me plunging after him over the edge.

We lay panting in a heap for a moment before he pulled away, eyes sparkling and deep. I smoothed his hair out of his face and smiled.

"I love you too."

I made a mental note to wear shiny dresses much, _much_ more often.


End file.
